Phinehas

P3H4I1N1E1H4A1S1

proper noun

Any of a number of figures of the Old Testament, including a son of Eli and a grandson of Aaron.

OriginBiblical Hebrew פִּינְחָס ← Egyptian pꜣ-nḥsj →
RareScrabble 16
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. Any of a number of figures of the Old Testament, including a son of Eli and a grandson of Aaron.

    And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them.

    1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Samuel 2:34
  2. rareA male given name from Ancient Greek, Hebrew, or Egyptian of biblical origin.

Origin

  1. Egyptianpꜣ-nḥsj
  2. Biblical Hebrewפִּינְחָס
  3. EnglishPhinehas

Uncertain. From Biblical Hebrew פִּינְחָס (Pīnəḥās); further derivation is uncertain. פִּינְחָס (Pīnəḥās) has been suggested to derive from Egyptian pꜣ-nḥsj (literally “the Nubian”), from pꜣ + nḥsj. Alternatively, within Judaism the name has been suggested to be a compound of the elements פה (mouth) and נחש (intuitive knowledge), and so meaning "oracle", but this has been suggested to be an example of folk etymology made after the fact.

More words from Biblical Hebrew, Egyptian

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian Финеес, Финей
  • Финеес (Finees)biblical character
  • Финей (Finej)male given name
Catalan Finees
  • Fineesbiblical character
Chinese Mandarin 非尼哈
  • 非尼哈 (fēi ní hā)biblical character
Danish Pinehas
  • Pinehasbiblical character
Esperanto Pineĥaso, Pineĥaso
  • Pineĥasobiblical character
  • Pineĥasomale given name
Finnish Pinehas
  • Pinehasbiblical character
Greek Φινεές
  • Φινεές (Fineés)biblical character
Hawaiian Pinehasa, Pinehaka
  • Pinehasabiblical character
  • Pinehakamale given name
Hebrew פִּינְחָס
  • פִּינְחָס (Pīn'ḥās)biblical character
Japanese ピネハス
  • ピネハス (Pinehasu)biblical character
Norwegian Pinhas
  • Pinhasbiblical character
Swedish Pinehas
  • Pinehasbiblical character
Cite this entry
APA

Phinehas. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Phinehas

MLA

“Phinehas.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Phinehas. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Phinehas,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Phinehas.

Source: Phinehas on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.